Director Ugochukwu Azuya’s ‘I Live in V.I.’ to Screen in Development at Locarno Open Doors

Ugochukwu Azuya’s feature project “I Live in V.I.” is set to be showcased in development at Locarno Open Doors, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The event highlights works from emerging filmmakers and, in this case, will spotlight Azuya’s new film, which he describes as a social class satire built around urban alienation and the pressures of gentrification.

Azuya, the director attached to the project, said the work is inspired by his own experience living in Lagos and by what he characterized as a “materialistically driven, very classist society.” In that description, the film’s premise focuses on how social status shapes daily life in cities, including how neighborhoods, housing, and public perceptions can harden into symbols of inclusion or exclusion.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that “I Live in V.I.” is one of the films in development that will be showcased at Locarno Open Doors. The outlet did not describe a release date or distribution plan for the film in its coverage, noting instead the project’s status as a work in progress gaining visibility through the festival’s industry-facing initiative.

Locarno Open Doors is designed to connect filmmakers with industry professionals and to support projects as they move from early development toward production. By presenting Azuya’s project in that setting, the festival platform provides a formal public step in the fundraising and packaging process, where financing, casting, and creative partners are typically discussed and negotiated.

In describing the project’s thematic aims, Azuya’s comments placed the story in a wider social framework, tying the film’s satire to how class distinctions can influence who feels at home in a city and who is made to feel out of place. The reporting frames those dynamics through the lens of Lagos, linking the film’s fictional premise to the director’s stated observations about wealth-driven social hierarchies.

The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage also indicated that “I Live in V.I.” will be part of the broader slate of development work at Locarno Open Doors, reflecting the festival’s role as a pipeline for international projects that may later seek support from producers, sales agents, and broadcasters.

For audiences, the immediate takeaway is less a finished film than a project entering the international development stream. For the industry, the showcase means the project can be evaluated at a stage when changes to script structure, budget scope, and production strategy may still be shaped by feedback and dealmaking.

Any further details about “I Live in V.I.”, including principal cast, script revisions, and a production timetable, would typically depend on what financing and partner conversations result from its festival appearance, as no such next-step commitments were included in The Hollywood Reporter’s report.